Middlesbrough into UEFA final after superb comeback
Thu 27 Apr, 10:01 PM
LONDON (Reuters) - Middlesbrough produced another astonishing four-goal comeback to beat Steaua Bucharest 4-2 for a 4-3 aggregate victory on Thursday and reach the UEFA Cup final for the first time.
Italian substitute Massimo Maccarone, who got the last-minute winner to beat Basel in the last round, repeated the feat with an 89th-minute header that turned a 3-0 deficit into an incredible second successive 4-3 win.
Boro looked out when goals by Nicolae Dica and Doran Goian had the Romanian visitors 2-0 up after 24 minutes but Maccarone began the comeback in the 33rd minute while a 65th minute Mark Viduka header and 73rd-minute Chris Riggott goal raised hopes among the biggest crowd of the season at the Riverside.
Maccarone's header from a Stewart Downing cross then took Boro into the May 10 final in Eindhoven where they will meet either Seville or Schalke 04, who were playing later.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Where do you keep God?
This is a TRUE story,
Young 5 year old boy to Church Deacon,
"Where do you keep God?"
Reply
"Don't have a clue, I'am only a Deacon."
Young 5 year old boy to Church Deacon,
"Where do you keep God?"
Reply
"Don't have a clue, I'am only a Deacon."
Copyright again...
Over the past few months i have been trying to get my head round the sue of video and music in church, and I've posted on it a few times, but never been able to find much that describes the New Zealand situation which is very different to the US or UK copyright laws. Anyway thatnks to the wonderful people at FEVA ministries a paper has been put out that although it is written from an Australian context does I think describe how copyright work here in NZ also. So here is the link anyway:
http://www.feva.org/pdf/copyright.pdf
http://www.feva.org/pdf/copyright.pdf
Monday, April 24, 2006
Psychedelic Furs
while it isn't confirmed the dates for the Furs Australasian tour look like this
June 21
Auckland, NZ / St James Theatre
June 23
Brisbane, Queensland, AU / The Tivoli
> with British India
June 24
Sydney, New South Wales, AU / Enmore Theatre
> with British India and Ratcat
June 27
Melbourne, Victoria, AU / The Forum
> with British India and Ratcat
June 21
Auckland, NZ / St James Theatre
June 23
Brisbane, Queensland, AU / The Tivoli
> with British India
June 24
Sydney, New South Wales, AU / Enmore Theatre
> with British India and Ratcat
June 27
Melbourne, Victoria, AU / The Forum
> with British India and Ratcat
Sunday, April 23, 2006
the furs are coming....
Rumour has it that The Psychedelic Furs will be playing Auckland at the end of June.... oh i shall be a happy man....what do you mean you have never heard of The Psychedelic Furs http://www.burneddowndays.com/
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Nature of a call
I have been pondering the nature of a call of God on your life over the past few days... A few months back i read the Os Guinness book THE CALL, and it really helped me make soem very hard decisions and to see some clarity in God's leading.
In the book, Guinness describes what he views to be the nature of a Call namely that all Christians who have heard the word's of Jesus to follow me, have heard the call. The problem being when people try to interpret what that call may mean for their Life. The call is clear then, but our response and interprettion is often fuzzy, Christian dogma in an attempt to explin it has according to Guinees not always helped it but distorted it>
Distortion one is the idea that spiritual things are higher than secular things; so, calling is reserved for monks, nuns, and priests, and lay people are let off the hook.
Distortion two is the other way around, Martin Luther and John Calvin taught that calling includes your work. The problem here is that in the modern world we see the words calling and vocation as the same as work nd employment. So, we have a situation where calling is being secularized and work is being sacralized.
For me the situation I am puzzling over is not the first call - the Follow Me. that is not at issue but rather what Guinness calls the special calling which refers to those tasks and mission laid on individuals through a particular supernatural communication and gifting from God. I was brought up in the faith believing that this call was geographicaly specific, a fine line that we must walk for fear of not serving God in the right palce at the right time.... However I have come to the conclusion that much of that thinking is Bunkum - rubbish - and very dangerous. it causes people to make statements like, "That's not my ministry" or "I didn't feel led." But it's also used by well meaning pastors to undermine what people are doing for God outside of the Church. A few months back I was interviewd for a position with the government working for the Ministry of Youth Development, a well meaning comment was made but wouldn't that betray your call - well of course not, in fact i could think of many ways in which it would have enhanced it - where i could have served God more than i am currently doing. Needles to say I did not get the position, damn shame....
So at the end fo the day here is who I am, a person who has recieved gladly and gratefully The call of Jesus to come and follow him... I have been gifted with many attributes, personal and spiritual to help me to do that, I will use them whenver I can and wherever I can, whether it be in the Church or in the World, until the day when the Lord asks for them back, on which day I hope he will say, "Well done good and faithful servant....enter into your rest."
In the book, Guinness describes what he views to be the nature of a Call namely that all Christians who have heard the word's of Jesus to follow me, have heard the call. The problem being when people try to interpret what that call may mean for their Life. The call is clear then, but our response and interprettion is often fuzzy, Christian dogma in an attempt to explin it has according to Guinees not always helped it but distorted it>
Distortion one is the idea that spiritual things are higher than secular things; so, calling is reserved for monks, nuns, and priests, and lay people are let off the hook.
Distortion two is the other way around, Martin Luther and John Calvin taught that calling includes your work. The problem here is that in the modern world we see the words calling and vocation as the same as work nd employment. So, we have a situation where calling is being secularized and work is being sacralized.
For me the situation I am puzzling over is not the first call - the Follow Me. that is not at issue but rather what Guinness calls the special calling which refers to those tasks and mission laid on individuals through a particular supernatural communication and gifting from God. I was brought up in the faith believing that this call was geographicaly specific, a fine line that we must walk for fear of not serving God in the right palce at the right time.... However I have come to the conclusion that much of that thinking is Bunkum - rubbish - and very dangerous. it causes people to make statements like, "That's not my ministry" or "I didn't feel led." But it's also used by well meaning pastors to undermine what people are doing for God outside of the Church. A few months back I was interviewd for a position with the government working for the Ministry of Youth Development, a well meaning comment was made but wouldn't that betray your call - well of course not, in fact i could think of many ways in which it would have enhanced it - where i could have served God more than i am currently doing. Needles to say I did not get the position, damn shame....
So at the end fo the day here is who I am, a person who has recieved gladly and gratefully The call of Jesus to come and follow him... I have been gifted with many attributes, personal and spiritual to help me to do that, I will use them whenver I can and wherever I can, whether it be in the Church or in the World, until the day when the Lord asks for them back, on which day I hope he will say, "Well done good and faithful servant....enter into your rest."
Thursday, April 13, 2006
What am I????
I had a converstaion last night with a guy about theological denomational type things. During the course of the converstaion I said I appreciate and believe that Christians and the church should be responsive to the work of the Spirit.... "Ah" he said, "so you're a pentecostal", My response
"Well if that means I believe that God's Spirit it at work in the world, and we need to respond to and find where the Spirit is at work, then yes I am a pentecostal, but if it means swinging from the chandeleres in worshop then no I am not a pentecostal."
I continued the drift of this converstaion with someone else today when I described myself as evangelical with a small 'e'.
It seems to me that the old labels do not fit, not just me but many people are finding the same thing, recently a collegue of mine has gone to another denomination that I thought they would never consider.
Brian McLaren wrote a book with a great title that i think describes the phenomenon:
- A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charismatic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed-yet-Hopeful, Emergent, Unfinished CHRISTIAN
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310257476/sr=8-2/qid=1144882120/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-3461054-4292739?%5Fencoding=UTF8
I think McLaren again hit it on the head in this. So here is my take on this.
Once upon a time a person would nail themselves to a denomiation and theological stance within that denomination. I think the same holds true but the nail is attached to a bungy cord which is then attached to one's foot. Allwoing freedom of expression that the theological/denominational position could not give but also allowing breadth and the ability to move.
So theologicaly I am but I am not also, Does this position feel uncomfortable? Absolutely not - it is a blessing, something that I hold prescious too, soemthing that i believe make sense of the gospel.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Time to come out of the closet....
Hi all, a month or so back I put a site meter on my site to see if anyone was reading it.... well i have had almost a 1000 hits in that time, and average about 18 hits a day.... more popular than google I THINK NOT.
Anyway i though it was a good opportunity to allow soem of you closet readers - particuarly those from CHRISTCHURCH to come out the closet and say hello.
I won't bite.....much
Anyway i though it was a good opportunity to allow soem of you closet readers - particuarly those from CHRISTCHURCH to come out the closet and say hello.
I won't bite.....much
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Monday, April 10, 2006
multi cultural or multi ethnic
I have been thinking a lot about multi cultural worship lately and what that can look like. It seems there a lot of churches around at the moment that would claim to be multi cultural in their worship style. The reality though is often that they are multi ethnic and not multi cultural. In a recent debate around the National Census in NZ there were a lot of question and a fare few talk abck complaints abotu a question reffering to ethnicity. Quite a few people jumped up and down not wanting to be reffered to as NZ European, "It doesn't descibe me." was the often heard statement, or "I'll put I am other on the bottom of the form - I'm a Kiwi."
It seemed to me that this confusion was similar to the confsuion that many of our churches refer to when they say they are multi cultural, when in fact they are multi ethnic..
Ethnicity and cultural are not one and that same, ethnicaly I am European, culturally i am probably Kiwiish... they are not the same thing.
In a few months I hope to be on a journey of helping a Church become truly multi cultural in their approach to worship and multiethnic in their make up. It's not going to be an easy journey but one the cross cultural landscape of youth work has allowed me to see some possibilities in. A ministry that is normaly monoethnic but multi cultural due to the dissonance and differeing world view of young people to their parents generation.
Apart from that Leslie Newbigin (thanks to Brian Smith for that one) has been a huge influence on my understanding of the relationship between the gospel and culutre and the need for the same gospel to engage with the culture
It seemed to me that this confusion was similar to the confsuion that many of our churches refer to when they say they are multi cultural, when in fact they are multi ethnic..
Ethnicity and cultural are not one and that same, ethnicaly I am European, culturally i am probably Kiwiish... they are not the same thing.
In a few months I hope to be on a journey of helping a Church become truly multi cultural in their approach to worship and multiethnic in their make up. It's not going to be an easy journey but one the cross cultural landscape of youth work has allowed me to see some possibilities in. A ministry that is normaly monoethnic but multi cultural due to the dissonance and differeing world view of young people to their parents generation.
Apart from that Leslie Newbigin (thanks to Brian Smith for that one) has been a huge influence on my understanding of the relationship between the gospel and culutre and the need for the same gospel to engage with the culture
Friday, April 07, 2006
youth ministry values
3 posts in one day is pretty hard core for me, but i have been away and had a lot i wanted to put up so here is the third instalment:
I've been doing some thinking on how our values influence our understanding and practice of youth ministry, so to keep myself in check I have spent some time thinking about what values I minister from. I rooted them into a proverb, a scripture and a story.
"It takes a village to raise a child" – African Proverb
Young people in the church community are the responsibility not just of parents and paid staff but the whole church
Relationality – see above.
Particiaption - place to serve – ownership – responsibility
Positive image of young people – antidote to media stereotypes
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Being a call to come and walk with me, learn with me and you will discover the truth.
Therefore youth ministry should be about:
Journeying.
Seeking.
Exploring.
Questioning.
Finding.
Guiding
Challenge
Adolescene is a stage – therefore cannot be separated from the life journey – but nor can it be ignored – it is probably the most formative in developing Christian character and a desire for a relationship with Jesus
The Explorer: The explorer returned to his people, who were eager to know about the Amazon. But how could he ever put into words the feelings that flooded his heart when he saw exotic flowers and heard the night-sounds of the forest; when he sensed the danger of wild beasts or paddled his canoe over treacherous rapids?
He said, "Go and find out for your selves." To guide them he drew a map of the river. They pounced on the map. They framed it in their town hall. They made copies of it for themselves. And all who had a copy considered themselves experts on the river, for did they not know it's every turn and bend, how broad it was and how deep, where the rapids were and where the falls were?
from "The Song Of The Bird" by Anthony de Mello, SJ
I've been doing some thinking on how our values influence our understanding and practice of youth ministry, so to keep myself in check I have spent some time thinking about what values I minister from. I rooted them into a proverb, a scripture and a story.
"It takes a village to raise a child" – African Proverb
Young people in the church community are the responsibility not just of parents and paid staff but the whole church
Relationality – see above.
Particiaption - place to serve – ownership – responsibility
Positive image of young people – antidote to media stereotypes
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Being a call to come and walk with me, learn with me and you will discover the truth.
Therefore youth ministry should be about:
Journeying.
Seeking.
Exploring.
Questioning.
Finding.
Guiding
Challenge
Adolescene is a stage – therefore cannot be separated from the life journey – but nor can it be ignored – it is probably the most formative in developing Christian character and a desire for a relationship with Jesus
The Explorer: The explorer returned to his people, who were eager to know about the Amazon. But how could he ever put into words the feelings that flooded his heart when he saw exotic flowers and heard the night-sounds of the forest; when he sensed the danger of wild beasts or paddled his canoe over treacherous rapids?
He said, "Go and find out for your selves." To guide them he drew a map of the river. They pounced on the map. They framed it in their town hall. They made copies of it for themselves. And all who had a copy considered themselves experts on the river, for did they not know it's every turn and bend, how broad it was and how deep, where the rapids were and where the falls were?
from "The Song Of The Bird" by Anthony de Mello, SJ
Early Easter Reflections...
Several years ago I attended a Good Friday service at a friend's Pentecostal church, the opening song was “He is risen…” I don’t think that they really understood the Jesus story in jumping to the punch line they failed to recognise the need for the whole story…
In the Church we need the whole story firstly, because it is not just a happy ever after because a happy ever after cannot exist with out a once upon a time, and the journey of discovery that must follow that. For the Christian Church the happily ever after can only come through the pain of the cross, the gift of the resurrection and the hope of eternity with Christ.
Secondly, through the Easter story the breadth of human experience is drawn in and given fresh meaning in the light of the resurrection. Jesus’ abandonment gives a silent voice to the cry of millions who suffer. In Elie Wiesel’s famous work Night he relays the story of a young Auschwitz prisoner hung from the gallows. Wiesel writes, “behind me, I hear a man asking: “Where is God now? And I heard a voice within me answer him: “Where is He? Here He is – He is hanging here on this gallows…”
In the Narnia stories Aslan is overpowered by the witch and killed, the children wonder, “How can this be?” That is the question we all ask, but the stone table is broken, the tomb is empty Love has conquered death, because there is deeper magic at work in this world, Elie in his faith struggle saw it, the Narnia children discovered it and my Pentecostal friend new it all along, and subsequently to quote Lewis, “When a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the table would crack and death itself would start working backwards.”
At Easter time we are split in many ways with many of our young people being all too familiar with pain and loss, while others will by pass the Friday as quickly as possible. Easter weekend then is not a holiday but a time to pause… Reflect, cry with those who have loss and laugh with joy on the resurrection morning…
In the Church we need the whole story firstly, because it is not just a happy ever after because a happy ever after cannot exist with out a once upon a time, and the journey of discovery that must follow that. For the Christian Church the happily ever after can only come through the pain of the cross, the gift of the resurrection and the hope of eternity with Christ.
Secondly, through the Easter story the breadth of human experience is drawn in and given fresh meaning in the light of the resurrection. Jesus’ abandonment gives a silent voice to the cry of millions who suffer. In Elie Wiesel’s famous work Night he relays the story of a young Auschwitz prisoner hung from the gallows. Wiesel writes, “behind me, I hear a man asking: “Where is God now? And I heard a voice within me answer him: “Where is He? Here He is – He is hanging here on this gallows…”
In the Narnia stories Aslan is overpowered by the witch and killed, the children wonder, “How can this be?” That is the question we all ask, but the stone table is broken, the tomb is empty Love has conquered death, because there is deeper magic at work in this world, Elie in his faith struggle saw it, the Narnia children discovered it and my Pentecostal friend new it all along, and subsequently to quote Lewis, “When a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the table would crack and death itself would start working backwards.”
At Easter time we are split in many ways with many of our young people being all too familiar with pain and loss, while others will by pass the Friday as quickly as possible. Easter weekend then is not a holiday but a time to pause… Reflect, cry with those who have loss and laugh with joy on the resurrection morning…
Leadershipnext and proof of God's blessing
Earlier this week I had a three hour wait in a regional airport for aflight and was so able to sit down and read the Eddie Gibb's book LeadershipNext. This guy has always impressed mecomming out of the Church growth school but being able to understand the 'emergent' world (not a term I particuarly like). Anyway i think with this book he has hot the nail on hte head so to speak recognising some of the attributes (probably good and bad) of those who are to lead (or should that be facilitate) in the life of the emerging church movement. Go buy it.....
In other news i arrived at work early this morning to catch the last 30 minutes of play in the UEFA cup match between Middlesbrough (my home team) and Basle.... There is a God and his face is shinning on the Boro today, needing 4 goals to win this round they did so with about 90 seconds to spare - 4-1 to the Boro and 4-3 on aggregate. to celerbrate i entertained the office with the classic track - papa's got a brand ne pig bag - by pig bag - the Boro theme tune
duhduhduhduduh
daduduuhduh
duhduhduhduduh
daduduuduh
repeat to fade.... over heavy bass beat
In other news i arrived at work early this morning to catch the last 30 minutes of play in the UEFA cup match between Middlesbrough (my home team) and Basle.... There is a God and his face is shinning on the Boro today, needing 4 goals to win this round they did so with about 90 seconds to spare - 4-1 to the Boro and 4-3 on aggregate. to celerbrate i entertained the office with the classic track - papa's got a brand ne pig bag - by pig bag - the Boro theme tune
duhduhduhduduh
daduduuhduh
duhduhduhduduh
daduduuduh
repeat to fade.... over heavy bass beat
Sunday, April 02, 2006
The Body
Last weekend I raided the video sale at the loacl video shop and found a copy of the Antonio Banderas movie The Body, in it he playsa Jesuit priest given the job of disproving the findings of a jewish archaeological dig. The finding are - apprently the body of Christ.
Hollywood doesn't often try to draw out faith issues in this specific terms so I was kind of surprised with the positive image that a person of faith was painted in though a scetion of the Catholic Church takes a bit of a hammering. I love the way though that they draw back to the fact that without the ressurection there can be no salavtion - chrisitanity may well live on but not the hope of salvation.
the end of the movie, without giving too much a way comes back to supporting the Banderas characters understanding of faith.
One that i think we need to bare in mind when we consider the press and media coverage of late and still to come with Dan Brown's Jesus.
While disproving the ressurection would not totaly undermine the Christian faith, one might wonder what an earth we would be following a person for who if he did not rise form the dead was at best a liar and at worst to use CS Lewis' words the Devil of Hell. The ressurection is not just an afterthought but central to the story, christian faith and hope. And the movie The Body certainly seems to recognise that fact
Hollywood doesn't often try to draw out faith issues in this specific terms so I was kind of surprised with the positive image that a person of faith was painted in though a scetion of the Catholic Church takes a bit of a hammering. I love the way though that they draw back to the fact that without the ressurection there can be no salavtion - chrisitanity may well live on but not the hope of salvation.
the end of the movie, without giving too much a way comes back to supporting the Banderas characters understanding of faith.
One that i think we need to bare in mind when we consider the press and media coverage of late and still to come with Dan Brown's Jesus.
While disproving the ressurection would not totaly undermine the Christian faith, one might wonder what an earth we would be following a person for who if he did not rise form the dead was at best a liar and at worst to use CS Lewis' words the Devil of Hell. The ressurection is not just an afterthought but central to the story, christian faith and hope. And the movie The Body certainly seems to recognise that fact
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